George Wendt Movies

The adventures of Disney's adorable talking puppies continue as the Buddies make their way to the North Pole for a magical holiday adventure. D-Dawg, Buddha, Budderball, Rosebud, and Mudbud are back, and this time they're on a mission to save Christmas. As Santa Paws prepares to deliver fantastic presents to good little pups all over the world, his son Puppy Paws grows weary of the cold northern winds. Sneaking a peek at dad's naughty and nice list, Puppy Paws notices that Budderball is about to get passed over for a present this year, and ventures out to help him get back into Santa's good graces. But while Puppy Paws is away, the enchanted Christmas Icicle begins to melt. Should it manage to drip away into nothing, the true meaning of Christmas will be forgotten forever. With Christmas fast approaching, Puppy Paws, Budderball, and the gang all race to ensure that the holidays remain joyous for generations to come. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Written and directed by Ian Gurvitz, the comedy/drama LA Blues follows a police detective who attempts to unravel why a man has attempted to kill himself. Soon she interviews a man who knew what was going on in the man's life, and eventually the officer and the audience learn about the problems of a group of male friends. The ensemble cast includes Anthony Michael Hall, Nicholas D'Agosto, William Ragsdale, and Dave Foley. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

A successful young couple moves into a posh neighborhood inhabited by a killer who is far from the benign suburbanite that appearances would suggest in legendary horror director John Landis' second installment into Showtime's Masters of Horror series. David (Matt Keeslar) and Celia Fuller (Meredith Monroe) seem to have everything a young couple could want: good jobs, a great house, and plenty of money. David is a hardworking doctor and Celia is an investigative reporter with a knack for always getting to the bottom of the story. Upon moving into their new neighborhood, the Fullers soon make the acquaintance of their new neighbor Harold (George Wendt), an outwardly amiable single man who seems to be quietly occupied by his job and his hobbies. One night while drunkenly driving home from dinner, David and Celia jump the curb and slam into Harold's mailbox. After inviting Harold over for dinner in hopes of making amends for their clumsy transgression, the couple soon reveals that they have moved into the new neighborhood in a bid to recover from the recent loss of their young daughter. As the pair gradually becomes better acquainted with their jovial neighbor, it soon becomes obvious that all involved have their fair share of dark secrets. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Although he later received notoriety as a member of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention and as half of the duo Flo & Eddie, Howard Kaylan is likely best remembered as the lead singer of the 1960s pop band the Turtles. It is this period of his life that Kaylan illustrates in his autobiographical screenplay for My Dinner With Jimi. Beginning right before the band hit it big with their single "Happy Together," the film follows Kaylan (played here by Justin Henry from Kramer vs. Kramer) as he and his bandmates struggle through gigs at small clubs and spend their free time hanging out in a deli, discussing the draft with Jim Morrison (Bret Roberts), Mama Cass (Lisa Brounstein), and Zappa (Adam Tomei). When their song hits number one on the charts, the Turtles head out to tour England, where they catch up with their old friend Graham Nash (Chris Soldevilla). Nash takes the band to a club where they meet the Beatles and Kaylan has a lengthy chat with John Lennon (Brian Groh). Further cementing his rapid transformation from fan to star, Kaylan is then introduced to Jimi Hendrix (Royale Watkins), leading to the titular dinner. Featuring a supporting cast led by George Wendt, John Corbett, and Curtis Armstrong, My Dinner With Jimi was directed by Bill Fishman, best known for his cult-classic directorial debut, 1988's Tapeheads. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Actor and comedian Harry Shearer makes his directorial debut with this mock documentary about the slightly sordid pastimes of some of America's wealthiest and most powerful men. Zambesi Glen is a private resort in Northern California whose highly exclusive membership rolls includes high-echelon politicians, leaders of America's military, owners of the nation's biggest corporations, renowned and respected political thinkers, and a handful of celebrity guests; the club's membership is overwhelmingly white and exclusively male. Once a year, Zambesi Glen holds a week-long retreat for its members, and while this gathering features the occasional group discussion of political and economic issues, most of the week is devoted to swilling booze, staging comic skits, performing odd rituals not out of place at a Boy Scout camp, doing business with the prostitutes imported for the festivities, and generally carousing like frat boys on a bender. However, not all is well in this playground for the power elite; feminist groups are protesting Zambesi Glen's "men only" membership policy, and far more embarrassing, a television reporter has found a way to smuggle cameras into the well-guarded resort, giving the world a less than flattering look at what America's leadership likes to do for a good time. The revelers at Zambesi Glen are played by a top-shelf comic cast, including Michael McKean, George Wendt, Henry Gibson, Kenneth Mars, Fred Willard, Howard Hessman, and Bob Einstein; among the female interlopers are Morgan Fairchild, Joyce Hyser, and Ming-Na. Teddy Bears' Picnic was inspired by Harry Shearer's visit as a guest to Bohemian Grove, the real-life men's-only retreat whose members are said to include George W. Bush, Henry Kissinger, Dick Cheney, Malcolm Forbes, David Rockefeller, Casper W. Weinberger, and William F. Buckley, though the film's opening credits humorously disavows any resemblance between Zambesi Glen and Bohemian Grove. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

One of Mark Twain's best loved stories gets a new twist in this made-for-cable comedy for the family, produced for The Disney Channel. Liberty is a dog who is lazy, ill-tempered, and doesn't often behave well. Liberty, however, happens to be the pet of the President of the United States (Fred Willard), which means he has the run of the White House, and the president's household staff has to put up with his antics. But one day, Moocher, a stray dog on the run from Washington D.C.'s animal control officer (George Wendt), happens by the White House -- and since he looks almost exactly like Liberty, Moocher finds himself enjoying the perks of life in our executive branch, while Liberty is out on the street and into the pound. When someone at the animal shelter notices the new dog they've brought in looks a lot like the White House canine, they figure they might have a gold mine on their hands, little suspecting that they actually have the President's dog behind bars -- and that an imposter is sleeping on the White House carpet. The Pooch and the Pauper also stars Richard Karn and Cody Jones; Liberty and Moocher are played, respectively, by four-footed thespians "Screamer" and "Petey." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Suburbanites from outer space arrive on Earth to clean up the inner city -- strictly for fun -- in this sci-fi-tinged comedy. With the death of his mother, Joseph (Christopher M. Brown) is trying to put his life back on track after several years as a street punk. He decides to turn the family home into a boarding house, but the house happens to be in one of the worst neighborhoods in Los Angeles and Joseph doesn't get many customers. One day Charlie (George Wendt) and Rhonda (Shanna Reed), a cheerful middle-class couple, arrive with their teenage daughter Daphne (Anastasia Sakelaris) looking for a place to stay; Joseph thinks something odd is going on, but given his lack of customers (and Daphne's attractive appearance), he keeps his thoughts to himself. It turns out that something strange is happening, however; Charlie and Rhonda are actually aliens from another planet who have come to Earth on a vacation, and their favorite pastime is hunting and killing the sort of low-life criminals who run rampant in Joseph's neighborhood. Alien Avengers was also released under the title Welcome to Planet Earth. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Filmed on location in South Carolina, The Price of Heaven represents one of the forays into the realm of made-for-TV movies by celebrated director Peter Bogdanovich. The story takes place in the early 1950s, as Korean war hero Jerry Shand (Grant Show) returns to his Southern hometown. Aspiring to medical school, Jerry lands a low-paying but steady job selling funeral insurance to the local black community. When ordered to collect back premium payments from the elderly and impoverished Vesta Battle (Cicely Tyson in a virtual reprise of her "Miss Jane Pittman" characterization), Jerry is prevented from doing so by his newly awakened compassion and social consciousness--thereby placing his job, and his entire future as a "good Southerner", in jeopardy. On a more personal level, Jerry is torn between love for his childhood sweetheart, whose family runs a local laundry, and lust for the predatory daughter of a wealthy cotton-mill owner (shades of Bette Davis!) Based on a novella by Allan Gurganus and first telecast over the CBS network on August 17, 1997, The Price of Heaven has since been shown on cable TV under the title Blessed Assurance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The late comedian John Candy directed this made-for-television black comedy. George Wendt stars as Warren Kooey, a poor slob with a vicious wife and a nasty boss. Wooey wants to escape his miserable existence, so he decides to stage his own kidnapping to get away from his tormentors and find some peace far, far away. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

Although Cheers had dropped from first to eighth place in the ratings from 1990 to 1992, its 11th and final season still enjoyed a very healthy viewership; in fact, its closing episode ranks as the fourth highest-rated series finale in TV history. Highlighting the show's climactic season was the new design for Cheers (necessitated by a fire precipitated by a chain-smoking Rebecca [Kirstie Alley]); the breakup of the marriage of Frasier and Lilith Crane (Kelsey Grammer and Bebe Neuwirth); the election of newly-married Woody Boyd (Woody Harrelson) to Boston's city council; and the very last scene of the very last show, in which the garrulous Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger) finally revealed the meaning of life: "Shoes." The biggest event of season eleven was, of course, the long-awaited return of former series regular Shelley Long as Diane Chambers, which occurred during the aforementioned two-hour finale (actually 90 minutes if one discounts the series retrospective that ran just before the episode, itself). Now a successful TV writer, Diane was invited back to Boston by Sam Ted Danson, whereupon they both spun tall tales about their nonexistent happy marriages before coming to the realization that they were still very much in love. Once again, Sam proposed; once again, Diane accepted; and once again, the marriage never came off, prompting Sam to close Cheers permanently. While the bar's customers and crew pondered over their futures, the audience was assured that least one of the regulars, Frasier, would be headlining his own sitcom come September. Going out in a blaze of glory, Cheers won the last of its multitude of Emmy awards. On this occasion, the statuettes went to Danson (for the second time) and film editor Robert Bramwell, who had assembled the valedictory episode "One for the Road." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Picking up where season nine left off, the tenth season of Cheers began with Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley) reluctantly agreeing to be the mother of Sam Malone's (Ted Danson) child. Romance did not enter into the picture: Both Rebecca and Sam were responding to the incessant ticking of their respective biological clocks. Ultimately, the consummation never came off, and the two agreed to stay friends, and friends only. Having spent several seasons as a recurring character, Lilith Sternin-Crane (played by Emmy-winner Bebe Neuwirth) was elevated to "also starring" status, although she still did not appear in every episode. Meanwhile, Lilith's husband, Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer), finally grew the beard that would remain his trademark until the series finally breathed its last. Season ten concluded with the series' first hour-long episode, in which Woody Boyd (Woody Harrelson) and Kelly Gaines (Jackie Swanson) were married. The event was deemed worthy of a TV Guide cover -- and it certainly did not disappoint, filled as it was with such last-minute complications as a dead minister and a gun-wielding jealous husband. Having attained the number one slot during its previous season, Cheers dropped back to fourth place, tied with ABC's Home Improvement. For the first time since the series debuted in 1982, Cheers was not honored with an Emmy, although it earned eight nominations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season nine of Cheers picked up where the eighth had left off, with Sam Malone (Ted Danson) and Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley) poised to consummate their newfound romance on the couch in Sam's office. "Interruptus" came in the form of Rebecca's billionaire boyfriend Robin Colcord (Roger Rees), now on the lam from the law for illegal stock trading. Gradually, Sam came to realize that his relationship with Rebecca was not to be -- although upon agreeing to marry the newly-released Robin, Rebecca developed an acute case of cold feet at the very last minute, leaving her technically free for a unique "business arrangement" dreamed up by Sam. Elsewhere, Woody Boyd (Woody Harrelson) continued juggling careers as a bartender and actor, and also persisted in his romantic relationship with wealthy Kelly Gaines (Jackie Swanson), despite the interference of Kelly's amorous French acquaintance Henri (Anthony Cistaro). Sam Malone likewise had a new nemesis in the form of the imperious John Hill (Keene Curtis), landlord of the building housing Cheers and the owner of the posh restaurant Melville's, which occupied the building's second floor. After babysitting for new parents Frasier and Lilith Crane (Kelsey Grammer and Bebe Neuwirth), a profoundly affected Sam decided that he, too, would like to be a father. It so happened that he had also selected the perfect mother for his child: Rebecca. And on this discordant note, season nine came to a close. This was the year that Cheers finally graduated to number one in the ratings, enjoying a 21.3 share. It also earned four more Emmys -- Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Direction (James Burrows), Outstanding Lead Actress (Kirstie Alley), and Outstanding Supporting Actress (the second such honor for Bebe Neuwirth) -- not to mention nominations in nine other categories. And finally, this was the year that former series regular Shelley Long returned -- albeit briefly, and at a considerable distance from her former co-stars -- during an NBC special celebrating Cheers' 200th episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide